1. Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to an image forming apparatus including a storage portion that temporarily stores a sheet on which an image has been formed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, some image forming apparatuses, such as copy machines and printers, each include a storage portion that temporarily stores sheets in the apparatus so that a user can pick up only the user's own sheet on which an image has been formed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-220905 discusses an image forming apparatus including a plurality of storage portions, each of which temporarily stores in the apparatus a sheet on which an image has been formed, in addition to a discharge tray that is usually shared by a plurality of users, provided on top of the apparatus main body. When a user wants to pick up a sheet stored in this storage portion, user authentication is performed using an identification (ID) card. User authentication is performed by the user causing an ID card reader provided in the apparatus to read the ID card of that user. When user authentication is successfully performed, the image forming apparatus is instructed to discharge the sheet, and thus the sheet of the user that has provided a discharge instruction of the sheet is discharged from the apparatus. Thus, the user can pick up only the user's own sheet on which an image has been formed. This configuration eliminates the need for a user to find out the user's own sheet in the discharge tray that stores both the user's own sheet and sheets of other users.
An apparatus including storage portions therein, such as one discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-220905, has an upper limit in the number of sheets that can be stored in the storage portions. Moreover, since user authentication using an ID card is required to pick up a sheet stored in a storage portion, other persons different from the user that has provided a print instruction of the sheet cannot pick up that user's sheet. Accordingly, if a user forgets to pick up the user's sheet from a storage portion after all of the storage portions have stored sheets, another user will not thereafter be able to use any storage portion. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-125909 discusses an apparatus that, in such a case, automatically discharges a sheet to a discharge tray usually shared by a plurality of users. However, discharge to such a discharge tray as discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-125909 may result in mixed storage of both a sheet of a specific user and sheets of other users.